Front Tire Wear

[Flurry]

Hi all,

 

Around June last year I had new tires fitted to my '04 130pd Superb as the set that came on it were fairly worn along the inside edges of the front tires. My current set have also worn in a similar way on the front tires - very little wear across the top face, but the inside corners of the front tires have been worn flat down to the thread - after roughly 20,000 miles or so. I'm rather annoyed that they've been destroyed so fast, and was wondering if there was anything likely to be causing this? The camber etc were all set up when I had the tires fitted, though I had the upper control arms replaced around november time - could this have been a factor? I'd really like to avoid shredding a set of front tires every 20,000 miles if possible as the rear tires are almost new looking!

[Nackuk]

19K is all I get from my front tyres (Good Brand tyres that is). Although it sounds like yours are not wearing out evenly.

[Gaz]

Mine had previously worn on the insides.  Turned out to be the lower arm bushes.  I agree with Nack and wouldn't be unhappy with 20k miles.

 

Gaz

[rotodiesel]

I would also agree - 20k miles from front tyres on this car is good. The wear should be even though.

 

The geometry of these cars is complex to set and requires special tools, as well as a lot more understanding than I have encountered in any "Skoda" dealer. The front suspension is very prone to wear, and all ball joints and bushes need to be checked - especially the lower ball joint on the front arms before you attempt any kind of adjustment.

 

Anyone who claims to set camber on these cars is not competent. All that can be done is to move the subframe laterally to equalise the camber L to R. It's not individually adjustable. The real "dealer killer" is raised toe. This needs a VAG tool and if it's not used, the settings will be wrong. The raised toe is adjustable by moving the track rod end ball pins vertically in the steering arms - that's what the top bolt is for. The pin is then locked with a (probably rusty) pinch bolt.

 

Find an Independent who knows what raised toe is when you ask him, and go from there.

 

rotodiesel.

[Flurry]

thanks for the information guys, somewhat relieved to know 20k isn't unusual. Shall have a thorough read of your post and digest it rotodiesel!

 

here's a photo of the wear:

[CRC]

Here's a link that describes in a bit more detail the business regarding the raised toe .... wouldn't imagine too many workshops are aware of this one, I've certainly never come across it. Does the car drive straight or display any other quirks?

 

 

 

http://www.zf.com/corporate/en/products/services/workshop_service/useful_tips/axles/wheel_alignment.html

[rotodiesel]

Very interesting link, which explains the need for raised toe setting based on the short trackrod design of the B5.5. I wonder what the front suspension designer was smoking when he came up with this lot. Certainly, I don't think VAG will use this design again.

 

Can you see your local "Skoda" dealer doing this adjusment properly - or at all? My local independent knows all about this and sets the toe correctly.

 

rotodiesel.

[jimbof]

Bookmarked.  What a random find from ZF's website though?

[Flurry]

Does the car drive straight or display any other quirks?

 

No other noticable problems, it creaked a bit on full lock until the upper control arms were replaced around November but has been fine since then. Having read the link, the car's showing none of the listed signs as far as I can tell.

Having checked the surface of the tires today the tread in was around 3mm on the surface and fairly evenly worn, with the obvious exception of the inner edges. I've had new front tires fitted today by the local Ford garage as they're very close by, have good customer service and provide a courtesy car. Is it worth me locating a local VAG specialist and getting the tracking looked at or should I just accept that my tires will last 20k?

 

Thanks for your help guys!

[jimbof]

The 20K is about right I think for fronts (that seems to be what I manage) but those tyres look well past serviceable to me, so really you didn't get 20K.  I would try and fix it as if you end up driving around with tyres like that you must be more likely to suffer a blowout etc.  

[Flurry]

Have just found the receipt for the tires, they were fitted at approx. 88,000 and the car stands at 105,800 so it's worse than I thought, they've barely lasted 17k (as you say, they were probably shot at leas 1k ago). That said, I don't really have the time or money to go all out on trying to improve the situation if there isn't an easy solution - I suspect the expense spent trying to rectify it could easily approach the cost of another set of front tires?

 

Now I know they're prone to doing it I'll keep a much closer eye on them and not let it get anywhere near as bad.

Edited 9 April, 2014 by Flurry

[rotodiesel]

Do you straddle a lot of speed hump "cushions"?

 

rotodiesel.

[Flurry]

Probably only half a dozen or so a week and not particularly quickly either. I do however, work in Milton Keynes so encounter a lot of roundabouts on my daily commute - could this be relevant?

[rotodiesel]

Judging by your photograph, only if you drive round all of them anticlockwise....

 

Rotodiesel.

[Flurry]

Judging by your photograph, only if you drive round all of them anticlockwise....

 

Rotodiesel.

 

quite - I would have expected wear on the outside edge of the passenger side due to roundabouts. The photo is of the inside of the driver's side front.

[mannyo]

The suspension used on the MK1 Superb is exactly the same as used on all generations of the Audi A8 including the new incoming model, mine has the same arrangement of arms and bushes and the requirement to set raised toe.

 

My previous Audi showed exactly the same wear as posted in the photo earlier in the thread. The wear was resolved by replacing the lower suspension arms as the bushes had worn, essentially when stationary the wheel alignment was perfect but under load the buses flexed causing the odd wear. After new arms the replacement tyres covered 18K before I sold the car and still had 4mm+ on all four corners.

[Flurry]

The suspension used on the MK1 Superb is exactly the same as used on all generations of the Audi A8 including the new incoming model, mine has the same arrangement of arms and bushes and the requirement to set raised toe.

 

My previous Audi showed exactly the same wear as posted in the photo earlier in the thread. The wear was resolved by replacing the lower suspension arms as the bushes had worn, essentially when stationary the wheel alignment was perfect but under load the buses flexed causing the odd wear. After new arms the replacement tyres covered 18K before I sold the car and still had 4mm+ on all four corners.

 

good to know! Is there any chance the previous set of upper control arms could have been doing something similar and worn the tyres? If that's not plausible then I'll look into getting the lower suspension arms checked, though based on how much the upper control arms cost me it's cheaper just to change the tyres more often!

[Flurry]

okay, having had my latest front tires wear at around 10k I really need to get this sorted.

 

Can anyone recommend someone around the Bedfordshire / Herts / Milton Keynes area who can sort the raised toe or any other potential causes of this wear?

[0wl]

Flurry, Tony Bones who owns Wheels in Motion in Buckinghamshire has a very good reputation as I understand it - never used him myself as he's too far away from me, but his website is here:

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk

If anyone knows a good place for getting full geometry on a Mk1 Superb done including the raised toe setting in the north of England (Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and surrounding areas) I'd appreciate the info. Everywhere I've tried doesn't have the appropriate adapters to set the raised toe.

I was happy with the results of what ABC Car Service in Leeds did when they aligned my Octavia but they don't have the correct adapters for the Superb. My car drives fine apart from some bump steer which I suspect is due to the raised toe being out, especially since it does this despite having had a full geometry done (minus the raised toe).

[dieselV6]

Looking at the tyre photo, it looks as if it was rubbing against something rather than wore out unevenly on the road? What size are these tyres, and what wheels are they on (factory, aftermarket)? 

[devilman9050]

er, and if anyone knows someone in Leicester that could sort out the same issue on mine....

[Flurry]

Flurry, Tony Bones who owns Wheels in Motion in Buckinghamshire has a very good reputation as I understand it - never used him myself as he's too far away from me, but his website is here:

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk

If anyone knows a good place for getting full geometry on a Mk1 Superb done including the raised toe setting in the north of England (Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and surrounding areas) I'd appreciate the info. Everywhere I've tried doesn't have the appropriate adapters to set the raised toe.

I was happy with the results of what ABC Car Service in Leeds did when they aligned my Octavia but they don't have the correct adapters for the Superb. My car drives fine apart from some bump steer which I suspect is due to the raised toe being out, especially since it does this despite having had a full geometry done (minus the raised toe).

 

Cheers Owl, I'll have a look into them

 

Looking at the tyre photo, it looks as if it was rubbing against something rather than wore out unevenly on the road? What size are these tyres, and what wheels are they on (factory, aftermarket)? 

 

Stock 16" wheels, and er, whatever the stock tire size is for them (16/55/2xx?). I can't say I've heard anything rubbing and there's been no affect on the handling, but I'll give it a careful look on full lock and check that nothing's fouling.

 

er, and if anyone knows someone in Leicester that could sort out the same issue on mine....

 

Leicester could also be useful for myself too!